Dad charged with child abuse homicide in death of son on motorcycle

TAYLORSVILLE — A man who police say crashed his motorcycle while riding over 40 mph with his 1-year-old son on his lap with no helmet, has been charged with child abuse homicide.

Shannon Moore, 48, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony; unlawful motorcycle riding, having a minor on a motorcycle with no helmet and driving on a suspended license, all class C misdemeanors.

A $50,000 warrant was issued for his arrest Friday.

On Aug. 5, 2012, police say Moore was driving his motorcycle in the parking lot of the Bridgeside Apartment Complex, 4251 S. Bridgeside Way (700 West), with his 22-month-old son, Richard, on his lap.

Investigators estimated he was driving between 41 and 47 mph, accelerating and stopping. On one pass, in which police say he made a 90-degree turn, he "lost control of the vehicle and crashed," according to charging documents. Richard's unprotected head hit the curb and the motorcycle landed on top of the toddler. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The speed limit for the parking lot area is posted at 10 mph. Moore was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.

Neighbors told police that Moore had driven around the parking lot with his son on his lap before, and "had been told by different people on separate occasions that his speeds were dangerous and that it was dangerous for (Richard) to be without a helmet," prosecutors wrote in their charges.

At the time of the crash, Moore did not have a valid driver's license.

Utah state court records show a woman filed for a protective order against Moore in January in a separate incident. He was convicted of misdemeanor DUI in 2011 and 1993, driving on a suspended license in 2005, and misdemeanor sex solicitation in 1995, according to court records.

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